The Perfectly Preserved Medieval Mansion With A Mysterious 5,000-Year-Old Pagan Stone Circle

I'm here at Stoner Park and it is nestled in the most beautiful secluded valley. And not only is it home to a nearly 5,000 year old pagan stone circle, but it's been in the same family for more than 850 years. I'm just about to meet with Lord and Lady Camois and I can't wait to hear more about this wonderful historic house. When I married into the British aristocracy, it was the start of a wonderfully exciting journey, but it was also a little daunting. I became a Viscountess and for an American girl from a small town outside Chicago, that was quite a shock. I live with my husband Luke, heir to the Earl of Sandwich, and our family at Mapleton House in Dorset. Living in a place like this is a joy but also a challenge and every day we're aware that we're preserving a very special part of Britain's heritage. Mapleton has opened up an extraordinary new world for me and I can't wait to share it with you all. So if you love castles and manors and stately homes as much as I do, please join this American Viscountess as I journey into the British countryside in search of some of Britain's finest historic houses. In the rolling hills of South Oxfordshire, the Georgian red brick façade of Stoner House blends into the hillside. This is the family home of William and Elsa Stoner, Lord and Lady Camois. The history of Stoner is bound up with the turmoil and legacy of the English Reformation in the 16th century. But Stoner's story begins at the prehistoric Stone Circle where I met up with William. Julie, hi! Hi, hi, hi! Oh my gosh! Welcome! Thank you so much! The view, I mean, it's incredible. Beautiful sort of hidden sweet spot. You couldn't believe we're now from London, could you? It is so hidden here and it's very quiet, very peaceful. So this is where we get our name from. This is where I get my name from, where the place gets its name from. The very first member of the family was called Robert de Stenora, Robert of the Stony Place, the Stony Valley. And it's very unusual to have these stones in this part of England, hence why I suppose it became a very important place of pagan worship. And interesting, actually, the northeast corner of the chapel is actually built on one of these stones because when Christianity came, it took over from previous religions. Is that an active church? So it is. Is it a parish church? It is a private chapel, but mass is celebrated every Sunday. So it is a private chapel, but it's for absolutely everybody to come to. Am I allowed to go in there? Yeah, let's head there. We can go around the chapel and then you can see the stone. And I look forward to then showing around the house and love you to meet my wife Elsa. Yeah, perfect. Great. Beautiful. So the church dates back to? The church dates back to 1250 when the license was granted to it. Wow, wonderful. Well, let's go and have a look inside. OK, fantastic. Here we are in the chapel. It's not what I expected. I know, I thought I wouldn't tell you because it got completely remodeled in the late 1700s. So even though this is a very old chapel built in the late 1200s, it was remodeled in the Gothic Revival style in the late 1700s, and then was later actually was redecorated shortly after the war by my grandparents. So it's a little unusual. Yeah, it is, but it's quite cheering, I have to say. It is, it's very bright and happy. Yes, it is bright and happy. Now I'm standing very near a lot of your forebears here. So do you have a family vault? We do, yes. So these are the last members of the family who were laid to rest in the vault, which is now full. To really understand Stona, you really need to start here. You need to understand this chapel. It is one of a handful of chapels where mass has been celebrated always. During the real times of persecution by Catholics, that was not allowed. So it was done in great secrecy. And because they didn't convert, the family had to pay huge taxes, both anti-Catholic taxes as well as paying triple the normal taxes. So they really gave up a lot. And so that's why I think it's really important to understand both this chapel and the family's Catholic faith, to really understand our family and everything about Stona. Because if they'd carried on to have been as successful as they were, the house probably would have been pulled down, and they would have put up the fashionable Palladian mansion instead. So anyway, that's history. Right, that's history. We've all made up. Yeah, you've all made up. And here we are, and your family is still here. Yeah, we're still here. I mean, it's incredible. And the stories continue to evolve. The turbulence of history is felt deeply at Stona. But at its core is a family who have survived and continue to live and worship in the home of their forebears. Well, Julie, welcome. Thank you so much. Can I take your coat? Thank you. I wear many layers. Very sensible. Let's go into the first of two halls in the house. This is the Gothic Hall. This hall originally was built in around 1350, but actually it was then reduced very considerably in size in the late 1700s. Things got easier for Catholics. They wanted to sort of engage more in society and entertain more. It's beautiful what they did. They created this beautiful Gothic revival hall, very much in the style of Strawberry Hill. I've noticed all of the heraldry around. From the corner over here, you have the first member of the family that we know of. Right. Presumably he had parents, but Robert de Sonora from 1150. We go all the way around the room to my parents' shield and to the shield of my wife and I. I'm the 29th generation and our children are the 30th. The 30th generation to have lived here. That's really unheard of, isn't it? It's pretty unusual. We don't like moving, is what I like to say. So if I'm correct, 29 generations and when you mentioned that was 1100. Yeah, about 1150. 1150. So that's what, 900? We're heading towards 900 years that we've been here in this building. It's incredible. I mean, the house has evolved. When you look at it from outside, it looks symmetrical, but actually it's many different buildings added on and a façade put over the front. All the buildings that have been built here are still here inside this house. So as you go through the house, you are actually walking through lots of different buildings. And so it's like a rabbit warren when you're inside here and you're going up and down different levels as you basically walk through one different building that was added and added and then put behind this façade. The other thing that's caught my eye are these stained glass right here. Beautiful. So were these put in at the same time that this was? Yeah, when they remodeled it, they redid the stained glass. The chapel was remodeled at the same time and they took some of the old stained glass that was in the chapel. A lot of it had been damaged during the Civil War, but some of the old stained glass that survived, at that time, they brought it into this hall. I suppose the other interesting thing to point out, I mean, there's lots of things in this room, but the earliest portraits we have of the family members, Francis Stoner and Dame Martha Stoner here on the right, which are from the late 1500s. They were all involved in hiding Edmund Campion, who became St Edmund Campion. They were the people responsible for giving him protection and hiding him here in the house and looking after him when he came back to England to help continue supporting the Catholics. Exactly, and that was quite common, of course, during that period, that there were lots of these hiding places, but yet many of them were found. Amazingly, he was not found here. He wasn't found, wow. Because this was one of several, but probably the most important sort of base for him when he came back to England because he was from London originally. He hid here and had his printing press here from where he printed what became very famous, infamous documents, and they thought he was here, but they never found him because the hiding place was so good, and it was somewhere else that he was found. Okay. After that, even though they'd been searched in the house before and never found him, they then came back and they found where he had been and where his printing press was. Right. So this is Martha's portrait, and she's someone who we very much look up to as a really important member of the family. It was incredibly brave what she and the other members of the family did at the time. So, yes, it's lovely to have this picture of her. For me, I sort of treasure these two pictures. Yeah, and considering from what I'm just picking up on, what your family has gone through, that they're still here, which is great. Hi, Elsa. Hello! Hi, I'm Julie. Hi, I'm Elsa. So nice to meet you. You too. We're going to be meeting later in the gardens, is that right? Yes, yes, yes, we're going to have a look together. I can't wait. We'll hope for some sunshine. Yes, well, exactly, fingers crossed. So we'll see you there later, and we're going to head on to the drawing room. Okay, perfect. Stoner fell into disrepair following the Second World War. When William's parents took the reins in 1978, they began a long period of restoration. As William shows me the family rooms, it's clear they have been revived with great love and care, with each acknowledging Stoner's past. So this is the drawing room. As I say, this would have been part of the hall, because it goes to the front of the house. So the hall would have gone, you know, up and to the front of the house. And more stained glass here, I've just noticed. More stained glass, yes. There used to be leaded windows, mullion windows with many panes of glass, but they changed at the time to sash windows. Okay. Primarily to give in, you know, more light. Yes. Because it would have been quite dark. But actually, we'd been paying, because we were Catholic, triple window tax, which was based on every pane. Of course. So if you had, you know, leaded windows, you might have had 60 or 70 panes of glass, whereas a sash window has 12. Exactly. So we saved a lot of money. But also brought in a lot more light. They put in these lovely, lovely Flemish stained glass from the 15th and 16th century at the top. Yeah, they are very special. Probably one of the most important documents or records we have, this painting of Stoner in the late 1600s. It's exquisite. What's quite interesting and what dates it is actually the horses. Okay. The reason why it dates it is because Catholics weren't allowed horses, because you could get around the country too quickly to cause trouble. It was relaxed for a short period of time. They were keen to obviously show we've got horses again. Okay. And a coach. How interesting. And I mean, it's so beautifully detailed as well though. These are the old leaded windows with multiple panes of glass, which were changed to the sash windows. But also a lot of the sort of decorative styling around the house went at that time, as did also a little bit later, this courtyard at the front, which went when with that sort of style capabilities, round style of sort of being open to the landscape that was removed, which I think is a bit of a shame because I think it's rather lovely. It was in the very top here of the roof where Edmund Campion hid. There's a chimney that you can just see the outline of. Yeah, I can see it. I can just make it out. So the chimney in theory goes straight up. It looks like it goes straight up, but at that time they diverted the chimney. So it actually created a void. And so when they were raiding the house, trying to find him, they looked at that and they thought, well, there's a chimney below. There's a fireplace at both floors below the chimney from the outside, because he goes straight up. They just didn't think that actually it had been shifted to create a void for him. That's why they didn't search. They just thought that there can't be something there because the chimney is going straight up. Right. What a lovely document, as you say. Sadly, we don't know who painted it. We've never worked that out, but hopefully one day we will. We're heading now into the blue dining room, which is one of two dining rooms in the house. Again, another wonderful room. Oh, my goodness. It looks like tapestry. Is it tapestry? It's actually wallpaper. This is made in 1815 in Paris by a man called Defoe, who was the great wallpaper maker. What is so interesting about this wallpaper is that at the time it couldn't be done on a printing press. It's completely hand blocked. And so if you can imagine every different element here that you can see is a different block. And so at the time it was almost one of the most luxurious things that you could buy because of the sheer amount of work and labour that went into it. You can imagine if they got it wrong, you know, if the ink ran or they didn't get it straight. It's called Le Monument de Paris. It's not how Paris is because as you look at it, it's basically all the famous buildings of Paris put next to each other along the Seine with mountains in the background. And the one building that is on the Seine, being Notre Dame, is actually not on the Seine. But it is really, you know, it's a very special thing. It was collected by a cousin of mine. It was in his lovely flat that he had in London and he very kindly left it and some other wonderful things he collected to my father. And so when my parents moved back here after my grandfather died, when we moved back here in 1978, that's when this was put here for the first time. And it really is. It's one of the real sort of treasures that we have. Some other things I think in the room that will interest you with your American heritage are some things from America because my great-grandmother was American and married my great-grandfather in New York in 1911. She was called Mildred Sherman. Okay. And she came from two of the great early American families. Her father was William Watt Sherman and her mother was Sophia Augusta Brown prior to marrying her husband of the Brown family from Rhode Island. Right, and Brown University. And Brown University, exactly, which they were very much responsible for helping families. I suppose the first thing to show is on the dining room table. This is brown glass and you can see the B. These came from Sophia Augusta Brown, from Mildred's mother. So it's safe to say that Mildred was an American heiress. She was, absolutely. If I'm correct, sort of, you know, that Gilded Age. She's right on the cusp of that because that Gilded Age was kind of 1870 to 1910-ish. She was very much, you know, if you read the books about the American heiresses who came to England, she is one of them. All around the beautiful blue dining room, there are references to William's American heritage. You know, on the wall here, we have these wall sconces with, as you see, the American eagle. So these are from the federal period, from 1830. Yes. And these came through, again, from that side of the family. Sophia Augusta Brown, who became Mrs. Sherman. We have her liqueur box as well, which is French. Beautiful. So all around the house, there are different things. Right. You know, from that side of the family. It's endlessly fascinating how every historic home has evolved over the centuries and how the rooms have taken on new life over time. This room, over the years, has had many uses. Originally, it was the buttery. In 1180, the very earliest part of the house, this was the buttery. Since then, it's been an estate office. It's been a bedroom. I love those English terms, the buttery, scullery, you know, it was just brilliant. So it's really evolved, this room. And at one stage, it was a chapel. When it was very difficult for them to, sometimes to say, mass in the actual chapel, they actually set up with a small traveling altar. But it's a study now. Yeah. Really interesting collection, mainly of Italian works of art. There is this portrait of Thomas Stoner, who became Lord Camois. He was very much involved in the Catholic Emancipation Act of 1829. Right. He was very much behind getting that through, and later became Lord Camois. Okay. A whole other story. Yeah, no, no, no, but very important. Very important member of the family in helping the family get back out into society. Especially after all that persecution, I imagine. And actually, he became Lord-in-waiting to Queen Victoria. And his son married Elise Peel, the daughter of Robert Peel, the Prime Minister. Right, yes. So he very much got back into society. He became MP prior to that of Oxford, the first time it had been possible since the Reformation. So going back though to the other items here, there's a lot of Italian works of art. These globes, which are dated 1699. Wow. What I think you might find amusing is looking at America. Of course. Because over on the East Coast, this is very well mapped and documented. But when we get over to the West Coast, it actually has the isola, the California, where they thought California was an island. Oh my goodness. And it wasn't connected to the rest of America. And then as we sort of get north of there, it sort of blurs into the ocean because they obviously didn't know. Right. This was made in Venice. And it says Il Mare, so it's the sea of California as well. Yes, yeah, absolutely. So these are fun. When I was small, I had great technique for spinning these and not realising that they're actually very precious. 1699. And I had really good technique. I could really get them going. And for some reason, no one ever spotted me doing this. I used to do it for years. Anyway, now I don't. Okay, yes. And they've survived. They've survived. How beautiful. What a treasure. Yeah, there they are. And then we have these lovely studies by Caracci of a boy and a girl. They're gorgeous. They are gorgeous. When I walked in, these are the two I noticed right away. And what's interesting, they actually look quite contemporary, don't they? Yes, they do. They're quite sort of modern in style. And then sketches by Tintoretto and Tiepolo. Wow. Oh my goodness. These are lovely, lovely ones. How did these come into the family? Very good question. So we had a cousin. He collected from about the 1930s, called Francis Stoner. And he was a great art expert, absolutely passionate about art. He never married, never had any children. And he left his collection to my father. You know, in the history of Stoner, they have not been here very long. But they've been here now nearly 50 years. Yeah, but what a truly remarkable gift. Oh, amazing. It's just, you know. We're very lucky to have this collection. Really. And things are dotted throughout the house from his wonderful collection. Stoner is a wonderful treasure home. Each piece of the collection relates to the family's personal life stories. On our way to the library, I obviously thought you'd enjoy seeing this extraordinary collection of furniture, which is in what would have been the solar. So the very first buildings, the very first part of the house. Right. The medieval, the oldest part of the hall from the late 1100s. This would have been the solar, slightly above the main hall, which is through the window now, down into the medieval hall. And this is where the family would have lived, in this room. Oh my goodness, okay. Now it is completely changed. We're talking, you know, 800 years. And completely modernized. And now has extraordinary furniture that my cousin Francis collected. This actually, this extraordinary chair, which was from the back of a gondola. Right. Which he bought in Venice, which he then put on this wonderful stand that he had carved actually by a craftsman in London. This was actually next to his bath. Amazing. And then this extraordinary bed. There are three things that people, art historians, want to come and see when they come to Stena. They like to see the globes. Yes. They like to see the wallpaper. And they like to see this bed, which is totally unique. No one actually knows who made it. We know it's about 1820. It's probably French. Okay. It could equally be Scandinavian. It could be Italian. It could be Russian. We don't know, but it is pretty fabulous. It's a shell bed. It's a shell bed with, you know, on these sort of, I don't know, mermaids or dolphins. Dolphins at the back here, mermaids at the front. And it's inlaid with beautiful mother of pearl. Beautiful. Yeah, it's extraordinary. Absolutely astonishing. I've never, I can see why people want to, especially the art historians, want to come and look at this. What a treasure. It's extraordinary, isn't it? Now we're here in the library. A unique room as far as it's the only room in the house that goes from the back of the house. Right. To the front. And as you can see, we're onto the level. The house is completely, bizarrely, I do not know why, it's completely built into the hill. So at the back of the ground floor, you're underground. Whereas here, you know, we're up on the first floor now. But yeah, no, we are, yeah, we're very much sort of into this valley. We are very much part of it. The house is built into it. It comes out of the hill. Right. Okay. Was it always a library? It was always a library, but my grandparents, they restored it. They repaired this beautiful barrel vault. So the books in this library are really a very unique collection of ecclesiastical books, most of which were smuggled in to England during the Reformation. But also there's a lot of Anglican books. The family was very keen to keep up to speed with what the Church of England was thinking. They always remained very loyal to the crown. They just wanted to continue to practice their Catholic faith. But they very much wanted to know what was going on. So it is a pretty unique collection of ecclesiastical books here in this library. Yeah. But in addition to the collection of books here, we're very lucky to have an archive. And the Stoner Archive is one of the three oldest family archives in the country. So I thought it might be interesting to show you a couple of things from the archive. I love archives. It's a real interest and passion of mine. Well. So this is so exciting. And we've clearly got lots more to talk about. So the first thing I wanted to show you was this document with this wonderful seal. It's the seal of King Edward II. And this is dated 1315. Oh my gosh. And this is a grant of the right of free Warren that was given to one of my ancestors, Sir John Stoner. He served as Chief of the Justice for both Edward I, II and III. He served under all three of them. He was sort of really, during those medieval years, one of the most important members of our family. He expanded the house from the original hall and the chapel that was connected to it. He grew the house and he had this extraordinary career. And this enabled him to hunt game on his land here at Stoner. OK. And it has this beautiful seal. Sadly, not fully intact. But you can see there, King Edward II. You can see head, everything. But 1315, I've got to do the maths here. So that's... Over 700 years old. Yes. Oh my gosh. And it survived. I mean, that's incredible. It survived and it's quite extraordinary. And it is in really fantastic condition. It is, yeah. I mean, look, you can read the Latin, you know, properly. Absolutely. And even the seal, as you said, you can make out King Edward II there. The second thing that I wanted to show you was from later, which is from 1581. We have a book called Rationes Decem, which means The Ten Reasons. And this is the very important work that was printed by Edmund Campion. He became Saint Edmund Campion in the secret room in the house. This is just one of only four copies of this book, which survives today. We look after it on behalf of the diocese of Portsmouth and the Bodleian Library. And it's his book or pamphlet that he wrote, which is The Ten Reasons why Catholics should be able to continue to practice their faith. And that was very incendiary at the time. And this was later on in the Queen Elizabeth's reign when things, the country was going through a nightmare. Once it was printed, it was taken out to Oxford, where it was placed on all the pews of all the churches, which was the quickest way to disseminate something. So that was like Twitter or X of the time, was if you wanted to get something out, you put it on the pews in Oxford, where all the academics, where all these important intellectuals are to spread something out. And that caused chaos. And the hunt was really on. So then they started to look for him? Well, they were already looking for him. OK. They had searched and they'd never found his hiding place in the roof here or his printing press. But he was later betrayed. And he was captured at a place called Lifefield Grange, which is in the west of the county of Oxfordshire. And he was then taken to the Tower of London. Right. Where he was horribly tortured. And completely understandably, he revealed that he'd been here. Oh, right, OK. And the troops then came back and they did find the printing press and they accordingly imprisoned some of the members of the Stoner family for having looked after him. He saw his demise at the Tower of London, is that right? He did. Tragically, he did. I mean, it was a big thing when this happened. Fascinatingly, when he was a young man, he was chosen by Oxford University, which he went to age 16, to give the Loyal Address to Queen Elizabeth when she went to visit Oxford. And as a very young man, before he had converted. Right. And become a Catholic, before he'd become a priest, he was chosen to give the Loyal Address to the Queen. And she remembered that. Fast forward 20 years later, not even, he came back and it was a big deal. Campion Award was a big deal. And she was desperate for him to convert. I mean, he even said that, you know, he was offered to be Archbishop of Canterbury. Oh, my God. Because she really liked him and she valued him and she knew him. Yeah. But what he'd done was very dangerous. Yes. But he refused. There was a famous trial where, you know, having been deprived of sleep for days and tortured, he still managed to outsmart the jurors at the trial. But he was sentenced to be hung, drawn and quartered, which was, you know, truly, truly horrible. Yeah, horrible. And made a saint as a result. And made a saint, well. Later. The fact that four survived was amazing. And here's one of them. Oh, what a treat. A couple of things to show you. Oh, a couple of things. These are just incredible. I can't believe it. To be able to see such astonishing historic documents in the family library at Stoner was such a special experience. It reminds me of the importance of preserving these ancient buildings with their unique histories. In the private sitting room, William spoke about living alongside history and sharing the family home with visitors. William, what a treat for me to be here and then see the pagan stone circle, the chapel and now the tour of the house. And it's really hit home that, you know, your family has survived and thrived through persecution, through penal codes, through so much change. But you've maintained your family home here. And you're the 29th generation. But things have also recently evolved as far as changed, in particular, when your parents took over. It is extraordinary that we've been here this long. I have to sort of sometimes sort of sit back and kind of absorb that. But it is about change. I think, you know, change happens all the time, doesn't it? And we have to go with that. We evolve with that. And, you know, we moved here when I was four years old, after my grandfather died. My parents took over in 1978. And, you know, they knew that in order to... Well, two things. In order to be able to look after this place, to keep it going, to look after the roof and all the repairs, that it would be important for... It's got to wash its face. It's got to look after itself. So one of the key things they did very rapidly, literally the following year after moving here, they opened it to the public. And what was that like for you as a five-year-old and growing up? Well, actually, I mean, it was actually enormous fun. And I only know this place with people visiting it. So some people who come here for the first time go, gosh, isn't it a bit weird? You've got people walking around. And I don't know any other way. And it's not intrusive, though. It works very well. You know, we have our side of the house that is just for us. That's our home. But, you know, this is a big place. We're very fortunate to be here. And not only is it something that both my parents have felt, but I also feel strongly as well that these places, it's important for people to see them, to understand them, to understand... You know, they explain the history of our country. In a small way. You know, if it was just Elsa, our children, and I here on our own rattling around the place, it would be a shame. And it's great sharing it with people. One gets a lot of satisfaction about caring for these places. And it's then really nice to make the effort to present it in the best possible way for people to come and see. So it does evolve. And initially, when my parents first opened it, it was about just opening the house and the gardens. But now we have a series of big events that take place here throughout the years, all sorts of different things from, you know, different fairs, concerts, outdoor cinema, all sorts of different things. We now also have an adventure playground, which is actually the biggest thing that we have here, which is, you know, open throughout the year. And that brings lots of young family here, which is lovely. It's lovely having children around and hearing them play and laugh is great. We love it. And it's such a wonderful setting. And, you know, when I was walking here, as I'd mentioned, it's just this hidden, secluded valley, but it's just absolutely beautiful. But then again, you're right. It's to hear, you know, children having so much fun on the adventure playground, but also at the same time for people to be able to experience your family's history and take that in. And I think that's what makes these privately owned historic houses that are open to the public so special because the history continues with your stories. The story you just told me. I think that's right. It's not a museum. This is home. This really is home. The rooms that people get to see when they come around are rooms that we use very regularly. We use them all the time. And, you know, we'll have weekends where we've got friends staying in some of the bedrooms that are on display. And we have to say to them, look, I'm afraid, you know, by 11 o'clock on Sunday morning, you've got to have made the bed and hidden your bags behind the bed because people are going to be going around from lunchtime. And but so they really are our homes. And there has been, you know, the history of what my late father and my mother have done over the last 30 years. And that has been lived by people coming and seeing it. And, you know, that will continue. Yeah. And it will continue. And we'll, you know, the next generation will say, right, I want to do something differently or add on to this. They are constantly. Yeah, because we are, you know, the way I feel about it and I know the way my parents felt about it is, is that we are, you know, it sounds cliche, but we are just the custodians of it for this generation. And, you know, what we want to do is, you know, is look after it, maintain it and pass it on in good condition. And then it's up to the next generation to decide, you know, what they what they do. Exactly. Exactly. And, you know, I completely understand that, of course, because I'm similar, smaller, but similar. It's wonderful to see people being able to enjoy it. And when I give tours, which happens occasionally, I need to give tours of the house. You know, they want to know, oh, my gosh, so do you spend Christmas in the drawing room? You know, this is where we have Christmas and also in the gothic hall. And that's what's it's a lived in family home. But yet we're sharing it. Yeah, no, and I think I think that is what marks out these privately owned historic homes as something a bit different to visit compared to houses are no longer lived in, which is still absolutely fascinating, wonderful. And it's amazing how many have been preserved. But that is something that is a little bit different. We're still living here and doing our best to look after them. Well, I am very much looking forward to, I hope, one day an American heiress exhibition, because I, you know, for me as the American, and I'm sure many people as well would feel the same way, oh, my gosh, I want to know a little bit more about Mildred, that beauty. I saw her. She's beautiful. So your great-grandmother. Definitely. It's something I'm very keen to do. Well, thank you so, so much, William. It's been such a treat. And I'm just about to meet Elsa outside. She's going to show you around the garden. And who doesn't love a good English garden? Well, it's been lovely having you. Thanks for coming. The painting William showed me in the drawing room, dating from 1688, is the first visual reference of the house. But also, it details the layout of the gardens, which are known to date back to 1480. I met Elsa to hear how the gardens have evolved in the more recent past. Elsa, this is beautiful. So tell me a little bit more about the history of the garden. I mean, obviously, it dates back medieval, but then it's evolved since then. Is that right? Yes, the 17th century. We think that this is when this pleasure garden was created and the gardens were terraced. Okay. And we know from a plan that the garden was divided into areas at that time. And so there would have been a kitchen court and a brew house. And these were the pleasure gardens. Right. You know, I've always wondered about terrace gardens. I think that they're fantastic and wonderful, but it really gives you a sense of looking and viewing the gardens in a different way. Yes. And for us, they're all south facing because of the warmth of the walls. So we can grow all sorts of things we wouldn't be able to grow otherwise. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And the gardens here have been nurtured by the family since, well, we know since medieval times, but probably earlier. Right. So more than 800 years. Yes. And it's a wonderful feeling to know that every generation have added their ideas and their love to the garden. Yes. As you've just mentioned, every generation sort of adds on and it evolves or things need to be restored. Is there something that you're keen on doing yourself apart from having to maintain this enormous garden, but leaving your mark? Yeah. So I've always wondered whether there should have been a focal point at the top of the park because the access, it goes through the woods. Right. As you stand from the bottom. And I was talking to William about it and he said, oh, but there is one. There are pillars right at, just on the edge of the wood at the top of the hill. Yes. And he used to play in them when he was a child. And then we found a letter going back to about 1755, referencing an octagonal seat on the edge of a wood. Oh my goodness. And so we think that that's probably it. And one day I'd love to restore it. Yes, absolutely. So if we head up here, we can kind of peer through even more. Oh my goodness. Your tulips. What a beautiful color. Oh, thank you. They're new this year. Right. I had almost given up on tulips altogether because they'd been eaten so often by pheasants and squirrels. No. And then I decided to have one more go. Wow. I mean, they are beautiful. And just the lovely way that they contrast with the green that are in the beds right now, but up against, of course, the brick you see here. Beautiful. Okay. Now, this way or this way? Ah, this way. Okay, this way. Fantastic. Okay, I've been waiting to do this since I was down there to turn around and see from up here. And it's magnificent. Oh, thank you. Oh my goodness. There's something just special about this, isn't there? It is. It's the views of the park from the garden because we're on the hillside. Right. Yes, that we really love. And it's magical all times of year. We can never take it for granted. No, no, no. Yeah. It's beautiful. And clearly that helicopter. No, it's actually not a helicopter. It's a lovely moth plane. It's not quite. They must be enjoying the view right now as well themselves. Now, this border is stunning, but it looks to me that it just carries on and on. Yes, nearly 400 feet long. Throughout the gardens, there are references to the transformation which has taken place over the past 50 years when Elsa's mother-in-law, Lady Elizabeth, oversaw the gardens. So in 1978, she and my father-in-law moved into Stona with their four children. And Stona had previously, so during the war, the family had moved out. Was it requisitioned? It was requisitioned. Right. It was given to the National Benz Oil Company. Right. And the gardens at that point really just became vegetable gardens. And by the time she moved in in 1978, the orchard was still here. All the beautiful old apple trees. But apart from that, the borders were just full of bindweed and ground elder. And it was hard to believe now looking at it, but there really was nothing here. Right. So it was just almost a blank canvas, but quite daunting. Yes, exactly. Yeah. Yes. She put in all the architecture of the garden that you see. So all the hedges, all the yew trees. And a lot of the hedges she grew from box. So we're very lucky that box grows well. So we have actually huge kind of lovely, blousy box trees that come up behind the wall. Yes, I can see. And which throw down saplings. And so a lot of these hedges, all of the hedges she grew from tiny saplings. You're kidding me. There's so many. Yeah. Look at that. And she put in all the four borders. Yeah. So she had a hot bed and these shrub beds. This is, I mean, it is stunning. It's beautiful. And the fragrance also, I mean, I'm here during a wonderful spring day. I'm a bit chilly, but a wonderful spring day. But the smells are fantastic as well. Also, the gardens are spectacular. They're beautiful. But I know that these gardens require a lot of work. So we have fantastic head gardener, Catherine Stanger, who's very talented. And she is helped by a whole team of volunteers who we're so lucky to have. Yeah. And I think also, you know, volunteering in gardens in particular allows people to get outside and not only just create friendships, but learn, share knowledge, but then they're outdoors and, you know, listening to this bird song. I mean, I want to volunteer. Sign me up. Which would be wonderful. Now, tell me a little bit about this border, because it looks definitely different from the one that we've just walked through. So this is the Far West border. And it is, it's one of my favorites. It's one of the earliest borders that comes into flower. So this is a Persicaria Bistorta Superba, one of my mother-in-law's combinations, which I really love with the Cephalaria Gigantea, which comes a bit later. I'm super impressed with your Latin. I do not have a green thumb. It's something that I aspire to. And now having this chat with you and wandering around your gorgeous garden, you have inspired me to do something about it in future. But did you take a horticulture course or study horticulture? I did, yes. I studied landscape design after university. Well, you can see, I mean, it's absolutely wonderful. I'm so lucky to be able to enjoy this with you. But are you open to the public? Because so many historic houses open up their doors to the public, but also their gardens as well. Is that the same here at Stoner? Yes, so the garden is open alongside our playground, Tumblestone Hollow, from April till September. Fantastic. And I think what's so nice is, you know, these historic houses, yes, they hold so much history, which is wonderful, but yet you go outside and the majority of these historic houses, Mapleton included, we have these wonderful, incredible gardens that we can now enjoy ourselves, but we open them up to the public for the community, which is absolutely wonderful. Thank you, Elsa. What a treat. For over 850 years, the history of the Stoner family has been woven into the very fabric of the buildings and earth of this glorious location. Stoner survival is testimony to the belief and determination of the family. It's been such a joy to spend time with William and Elsa, and I hope you've enjoyed this historic house visit as much as I have.